Chat Task

A better way for communities to communicate.

When a community starts, its members need a way to talk, share ideas, organize things, and get things done.

Sounds simple. It’s not.

Usually somebody starts a WhatsApp group.

Or a Discord server, Facebook group, or something similar. They’re convenient at first, but as the community grows, things get messy. Messages get buried, searching is difficult, and everybody gets notifications about things they don’t particularly care about. They make it hard to leave and try to make you pay. If they don’t now, they will soon, and then what?

People also participate differently. Some are deeply involved, others just want to follow along, and others care about one particular aspect of the community. A good system should accommodate all of them.

And let’s not forget the ethical issues. Most platforms are controlled by horrible oligarchs, your data isn’t portable, and moving your community elsewhere can be almost impossible.

So we’ve adapted an existing open-source platform to create Chat Task.

It works beautifully on phones and computers, and its structure is similar to Slack, but it’s free.

Conversations are organized into threads, so people can follow what interests them, find things later, and participate without being overwhelmed.

No advertisements, no algorithms trying to capture your attention, and no platform holding your community hostage. Your data stays yours and is easily portable.

For a tiny group, WhatsApp might seem easier. Fair enough. But communities grow, and switching platforms later can be a nightmare.

We think Chat Task is a much better place to start.

Try it out with your group. It’s free.

Try Chat Task

Positions we're looking to fill

Your questions,
answered

Can’t see your question? Ask us!

You certainly can, and for a tiny group it may be easier. But as communities grow, WhatsApp becomes a mess. Everything gets buried, everybody gets interrupted, and it’s impossible to hold real discussions. Chat Task is designed to solve that.

Have any questions that are not there?

Why not just use WhatsApp or Signal?

What’s so great about threaded conversations?

Do I really need another app?

Is Chat Task really free?

What if we want to leave?

Is this just for big communities?

They let different conversations happen simultaneously without becoming one giant stream of messages. You can follow the things you care about, ignore the others, and find discussions later. It sounds like a small difference, but it’s actually enormous.

We know, another fucking app. But this one doesn’t advertise to you, harvest your attention, steal and sell your data, or try to trap your community. It works on phones and computers, and you can participate as much or as little as you want.

Yes. There’s no subscription fee, advertising, or hidden plan to start charging you once your community depends on it. We’re trying to make something useful for communities, not create another business that extracts money from them.

Then leave! Seriously. Your community shouldn’t belong to the company providing its communication platform. Chat Task is based on open-source software, and your data is portable, as it should be.

Not at all. Small groups can benefit too, especially if people have different interests or levels of involvement. And small communities sometimes become big ones. It’s much easier to start with a good system than to migrate everybody after things become complicated.

Have any questions that are not there?

“Mobilizing is about getting people to do a thing. Organizing is about getting people to become the kind of people who do what needs to be done.”

— Hahrie Han

Let’s talk